Auto Dealer Monthly, Q4 2018

Q4 2018 adt magazine com 31 F I Products Capital Advance Program Technology Training Service Administration Offer your customers Vehicle Service Contracts Tire Wheel coverage GAP and Appearance Protection Products AGWS can supply you with all this cutting edge technology great customer service fast handling of claims F I Compliance training reinsurance and so much more American Guardian Warranty Services Inc is part of the American Guardian Group of Companies 8005792233 agwsinc com LET US HELP YOU GROW YOUR BUSINESS tomer will get the repair done the only question is will they bring their vehicle to your shop or take it somewhere else Be persistent to keep your dealership top of mind when its time 3 Scheduled Shop Hours Many dealerships are inefficient in the way they schedule their shop hours First and foremost I always recommend overbooking in order to account for the fact there will be cancelations If an airplane has 143 seats the airline sells more tickets than there are seats because they know they will have cancelations You can do the same in your dealership to maximize hours Look at your schedule right now Is 4 30 p m on Friday booked Probably not if youre allowing your service advisors to schedule all their own appointments If your BDC is booking appointments allow them to book your technicians until 6 00 p m instead of 5 00 p m Most techs wont mind the extra pay and you will automatically see a revenue boost It doesnt mean your technicians will be there until 6 00 p m every night because there will be cancelations I realize theres only so much a technician can do in one day but in my experience most service managers underestimate what can be accomplished The only thing you have to sell is time so be aggressive and sell more of it Some days will be busy but most of the time the no shows will be balanced out by the extra appointments and youll be close to 100 capacity 4 Tires The failure to sell a customer their first tires might be the biggest leak in your service department If your dealership sells a customer their first tire you will see that customer four times as often during the lifetime of that vehicle Youre more likely to get brake jobs alignments and other customer pay work as well Unfortunately many dealers dont do a good job at merchandising and selling tires in the service lane Ideally service advisors will always measure tread depth during the multipoint inspection process then have the ability to offer customers several tire options with menu selling on a tablet As dealers rely more on fixed ops revenue to boost dealership gross profits learning how to stop common revenue leaks is equally as important as generating new revenue Addressing these four areas could add hundreds of thousands of dollars per month to your bottom line Bill Wittenmyer is a partner with ELEAD1ONE and a 20 year automotive industry veteran with expertise in sales marketing OEM relationships and large client accounts Contact him at bill wittenmyer@ bobit com